The South Pacific Ocean is dotted with tropical
paradises and also with high-end resorts making the most of people’s desert
island fantasies, but Turtle Island is unique among these resorts. Having had
enough of American corporate life, Richard Evanson bought it in 1972 as his own
private hideaway. After Columbia Pictures chose it as the location for the
Brooke Shields remake of Blue Lagoon (the original 1948 Jean Simmons version
was also shot there), Evanson decided he enjoyed the company of others and
opened the island to a maximum of 14 couples. This gives the Fijian staff the
opportunity to pamper guests in a way that just isn’t possible in larger
resorts.
The adventure begins with the seaplane flight from Nadi to the island,
flying over reefs and tiny islands for half an hour before gliding to a stop in
warm, knee-deep water, where a welcoming committee wades out to meet you
bearing coconut drinks. Each couple are appointed an island ‘butler’ in the
form of a ‘Bure Mama’, who takes care of all their needs during their stay.
Accommodation is in magnificently appointed bures, traditional Fijian dwellings
with thatched rooves, polished floors and beautifully crafted wooden furniture
made on the island. Without the constant noise of phones, faxes and emails, it
doesn’t take long to ‘go native’, shoes become redundant and guests stroll
barefoot along the beach to meals served buffet style at a communal table under
a large open-sided bure. Salad greens (grown on the island) feature strongly, as
does fresh local seafood. Dinners vary, one night a lovo, the Fijian
version of food cooked in an earth-oven popular all over the South Pacific,
another night a stroll (or ride for the less energetic) to the island’s highest
point for a sunset dinner with breathtaking views. A private dinner a deux can also be arranged in
your bure or on a pontoon in the lagoon. After dinner guests are invited to join the staff for kava (the local
beverage), the guitars come out and the singing starts.
The island conveniently has 14 beaches to match its 14 bures and Bure Mamas book a different private beach for their charges each day. Transport around the island is by electric cart or dinghy and eskies, cushions, floaties, beach towels, chairs, picnic rug and hammock are piled in and ferried to the beach, where the hammock is strung up under the picnic bure and guests are left to swim, sleep and feast on a healthy picnic (perhaps spicy prawns noodles, grilled lobster salad, cheese, crackers, fruit an ice-cold bottle of Riesling) with a two-way radio in case they need anything else.
Digging for clams in the mangroves on the far side
of the lagoon, sunrise horse rides along the beach, snorkelling with the wildly
coloured fish, fishing for what will become part of that evenings menu or just
relaxing on the daybed outside the bure all help pass the time. And when you
arrive back in Nadi……………………don’t be surprised if you’re still barefoot!
Turtle Island Resort
Fiji
+61 3 9823 8300